Nuclear reactor
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorsLuciano Veronesi, Daniel C. Garner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Failure of the control-rod assemblies, particularly the control-rod guides and the WDRC's, by transverse flow of coolant through these members is prevented by directing the flow through a calandria above the guides. To avoid a high pressure drop in the coolant between the calandria and the outlet nozzles, the outlet nozzles are at the same level as the calandria. The calandria has hollow tubes between upper and lower supports. The length of the portion of the tubes between the supports is greater than the diameter of the outlet nozzles.
Claims19
A nuclear reactor including a vessel, a nuclear core within said vessel, control-rod assemblies within said vessel, said control-rod assemblies including vertical control-rod guide means in a plenum vertically above said core, said control-rod assemblies also including control-rod clusters, each said cluster including a plurality of control rods suspended from a spider, said cluster being movable to move its said control rods between said guide means and said core, and a drive rod connected to each said cluster for so moving said each cluster, said vessel having at least an inlet nozzle for supplying a coolant through said core, the inflowing coolant after passing through said core flowing predominantly through said guide means generally vertically, a calandria in the path of said outflowing coolant, from said guide means, said calandria including a plurality of hollow members, an upper support for said members perforate to the opening within said members and a lower support, said calandria being mounted with its lower support above and on said guide means and with said drive rods only and not said control rods passing through said hollow members, said lower support being perforate to the coolant flowing out of said guide means, said vessel having at least an outlet nozzle with a generally horizontal coolant outflow channel, said outflow channel being substantially at the level of said calandria so that the coolant flowing into said calandria flows generally transversely over the outer surfaces of said hollow members and out through said outflow channel.
A nuclear reactor including a vessel, a nuclear core within said vessel, control-rod assemblies within said vessel, said control-rod assemblies including vertical control-rod guide means in a plenum vertically above said core, said control-rod assemblies also including control-rod clusters, each said cluster including a plurality of control rods suspended from spiders, said cluster being movable to move its said control rods between said guide means and said core, and a drive rod connected to each said cluster for so moving each said cluster, said vessel having at least an inlet nozzle for supplying a coolant through said core, the inflowing coolant after passing through said core flowing predominantly through said guide means generally vertically, a calandria in the path of said outflowing coolant, said calandria including a plurality of hollow members, an upper support for said members perforate to the opening within said members and a lower support, said calandria being mounted with its lower support above and on said guide means and with only said drive rods and not said control rods passing through said hollow members, said lower support being perforate to the coolant flowing out of said guide means, said vessel having at least an outlet nozzle with a generally horizontal coolant outflow channel, said coolant flowing into the calandria flowing generally transversely over the outer surfaces of said hollow members and out through said outflow channel, said outflow channel being so spaced with respect to said calandria that there is no substantial pressure drop between the coolant flowing out of the calandria and the coolant flowing into said outflow channel.
A nuclear reactor including a vessel, a nuclear core within said vessel, control-rod assemblies within said vessel, said control-rod assemblies including vertical control-rod guide means in a plenum vertically above said core, said control-rod assemblies also including control-rod clusters, each said cluster including a plurality of control rods suspended from a spider, each said cluster being movable to move its said control rods, between said guide means and said core, and a drive rod connected to each said cluster for so moving said each said cluster, said vessel having at least an inlet nozzle and an outlet nozzle with a generally horizontal coolant outflow channel for circulating a coolant through said core, the inflowing coolant after passing through said core flowing predominantly through said guide means generally vertically, said outflow channel being substantially at a level just above the upper end of said guide means, a calandria in the path of said outflowing coolant, said calandria including a plurality of hollow members, an upper support for said members perforate to the opening within said members and a lower support, said calandria being mounted with its lower support above and on said guide means and with only said drive rods and not said control rods passing through said hollow members, said lower support being perforate to the coolant flowing out of said guide means, the coolant flowing out of said guides flowing directly out of said outflow channel passing generally transversely over the outer surfaces of said hollow members.
A nuclear reactor including a vessel, a nuclear core within said vessel, control-rod clusters each cluster including a plurality of control rods for controlling said reactor suspended from a spider, upper internals mounted on said core vertically above said core, said upper internals including guides, a calandria having a plurality of hollow members mounted between upper and lower supports perforate to said hollow members, said calandria being mounted on said upper internals vertically above said upper internals, with said lower support on said upper internals, a drive rod, connected to each said cluster, each said drive rod only and not said control rods passing moveably through a said hollow member of said calandria and suspending the cluster connected to it movable by said drive rod between a position in which, said control rod clusters are within said guides and said spider is near said lower support and a position in which the spider of said each cluster is near said core and said control rods are within said core, said vessel having at least an inlet nozzle and an outlet nozzle, said outlet-nozzle having a generally-horizontal coolant outflow channel, said outflow channel being substantially at the level of said hollow members, and means for conducting coolant from said inlet nozzle in succession through said core, said upper internals, said hollow members and said outflow channel, said coolant being conducted generally vertically through said core and upper internals, generally transversely through said hollow members and generally horizontally through said outflow channel.
A nuclear reactor including a vessel, a nuclear core within said vessel, control-rod clusters each cluster including a plurality of control rods for controlling said reactor suspended from a spider, upper internals mounted on said core vertically above said core, said upper internals including guides, a plurality of hollow members mounted on said upper internals vertically above said upper internals, a drive rod, connected to each said cluster, only each said drive rod and not said control rods passing moveably through a said hollow member and suspending the cluster connected to it movable by said drive rod between a position in which, said control rod clusters are within said guides and said spider is near said lower support and a position in which the spider of said each cluster is near said core and said control rods are within said core, said vessel having at least an inlet nozzle and an outlet nozzle, said outlet-nozzle having a generally-horizontal coolant outflow channel, said outflow channel being substantially at the level of said hollow members, and means for conducting coolant from said inlet nozzle in succession through said core, said upper internals, said hollow members and said outflow channel, said coolant being conducted generally vertically through said core and upper internals, generally transversely through said hollow members and generally horizontally through said outflow channel.
A nuclear reactor including a vessel, a nuclear core within said vessel, a plurality of control rods for controlling said reactor, upper internals mounted on said core vertically above said core, said upper internals including guides for said control-rod rods, a plurality of generally vertical hollow members mounted on said upper internals vertically above said upper internals, a plurality of drive rods connected to said plurality of control rods, each drive rod connected to certain of the control rods of said plurality of control rods, only said drive rods and not said control rods passing moveably through said hollow member and suspending said certain of said control rods connected to said drive rods movable by said drive rods between a position in which said control rods are within said guides and a position in which said control rods are wholly within said core, said vessel having at least an inlet nozzle and an outlet nozzle, said outlet nozzle having a generally horizontal coolant outflow channel, said outflow channel being substantially at the level of said hollow members, and means for conducting coolant from said inlet nozzle in succession through said core, said upper internals, said hollow members and said outflow channel, said coolant being conducted generally vertically through said core and said upper internals, generally transversely through said hollow members and generally horizontally through said outflow channel.
A nuclear reactor including a vessel, a nuclear core within said vessel, control rods for controlling said core, control-rod guide means mounted within said vessel vertically above said core, drive rods, connected to said control rods, for driving said control rods between said control-rod guide means and said core, a plurality of generally vertical tubes mounting vertically above said guide means within said vessel, only said drive rods and not said control rods passing moveably through said tubes, means for conducting a coolant through said vessel, said conducting means including at least an inlet nozzle and an outlet nozzle, said coolant being conducted in the normal operation of said reactor into said vessel through said inlet nozzle and then generally vertically upwardly in succession through said core and said control-rod guide means and then generally horizontally past said tubes and out through said outlet nozzle, said outlet nozzle being at the level of said tubes and subtending said tubes along the predominant portion of their lengths.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.